Suspended web roll support



July 30, 1968 T. w MARTIN, SR 3,394,897

SUSPENDED WEB ROLL SUPPORT Filed Oct. 24, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORi 7140/19/78 WMHRTIMSR.

M [Kim TTORNEY July 30, 1968 T. W. MARTIN, SR

SUSPENDED WEB ROLL SUPPORT 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct 24, 1966 INVENTOR: THO/WW3 MMfizfi/gk BY fl-l ATTORNEY July 30, 1968 w, MARTIN, 5 3,394,897

SUSPENDED WEB ROLL SUPPORT Filed Oct. 24, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 x x P1154 72 Y am United States Patent P 3,394,897 SUSPENDED WEB ROLL SUPPORT Thomas W. Martin, Sr., Nashville, Tenn., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Cutters Machine Company, Inc., Nashville, Tenn, a corporation of Tennessee Filed Oct. 24, 1966, Ser. No. 588,899 Claims. (Cl. 242-54) This invention relates to a web roll support, and more particularly to a suspended web roll support which relieves the weight of the roll upon the web feed means.

This invention is an improvement of the cloth roll supporting and feeding means employed in the cloth spreading machine disclosed in US. patent application S.N. 540,026, filed Apr. 4, 1966, of Thomas W. Martin, Sr., et al., and is particularly adapted for use with heavy cloth rolls. Although this invention was specifically designed for use in supporting and feeding cloth from rolls in a cloth spreading machine, nevertheless, it may be utilized for supporting and maintaining any type of web roll in constant feeding engagement with the web feeding means during the unwinding of the web.

Another object of this invention is to provide a web roll support in which the web roll is suspended and maintained in normal feeding engagement with a web feeding means mounted below the roll.

Another object of this invention is to provide a suspended web roll support in which the roll is lowered to maintain a constant web feeding engagement between the roll and the web feeding means as the Web is unwound from the roll.

A further object of this invention is to provide a web roll support including web feed rollers mounted below and biased upwardly into engagement with the bottom of the web roll and means for lowering the roll to maintain constant feeding engagement with the rollers as the web is unwound.

Another object of this invention is to provide a web roll support particularly adapted for supporting a heavy web roll and maintaining it in normal feeding engagement with the web'feed means.

A further object of this invention is to provide a web roll support including web feed means mounted below and in normal feeding engagement with the bottom of the roll, and actuator means responsive to the reduction in pressure between the roll and the feed means as the rollers are unwound, causing the roll to be lowered to restore the normal feeding pressure between the roll and the feed means.

Another object of this invention is to provide a web roll support including means for lowering the roll and web feeding rollers mounted below the roll for reciprocable movement and normally urged upwardly into engagement with the bottom of the roll, and an actuator in the upward path of the rollers for engagement by the rollers to energize the means for lowering the web roll.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a right side elevation of the invention mounted on the carriage of a cloth spreading machine, shown fragmentarily;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary top plan view of the invention disclosed in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the suspension means supporting the left end of the roll spindle;

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

3,394,897 Patented July 30, 1968 Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the suspended web roll support 10 comprises a base frame 11 disclosed in the form of a carriage mounted for transverse reciprocable movement on a cloth spreading machine frame 12. Such transverse movement is permitted by the roller bearings 14 mounted on the frame 12 and rollably engaging the transverse guide bar or track 15 mounted on the front of the base frame or carriage 11. The rear of the carriage 11 is transversely slidable on the cylindrical rod or bar 16. This transverse movement may be effected by any means, not shown, and forms no part of this invention.

Mounted on opposite ends or sides of the base frame 11 are a pair of upright standards 19 and 20, each having a substantially T-shaped cross-section. Slidably mounted for vertical movement upon each standard 19 and 20 is a spindle bearing block or saddle bracket 21 and 22, respectively, Each bearing block, such as the block 21, is provided with a T-shaped slot or guideway 23 adapted to slidably receive the T-shaped standard 19. Each bearing block, such as block 21, also includes a vertically disposed spindle slot 24 open at its top for receiving the web roll spindle or shaft 25. Since each bearing block 21 and 22 is constructed identically, the opposite ends of the spindle 25 are supported by the opposed bearing blocks 21 and 22 so that the web or cloth roll 26 is freely and rotatably suspended between the blocks 21 and 22. The weight of the roll 26 will, of course, cause the ends of the spindle 25 to rest on the arcuate bottoms of the slots 24 in each block 21 and 22. In order to facilitate the rotatable movement of the web roll 26, and particularly a heavy roll, the ends of the spindle 25 are rotatably journaled in end caps or bearings, such as 27, disclosed in FIGS. 2 and 5. Thus, if the end cap 27 binds in the slot 24, spindle 26 is still free to rotate within the caps 27.

Each bearing block 21 and 22 is attached to and suspended by one end of each chain 29 and 30, respectively, carried over upper sprockets 31 and 32, respectively. The opposite ends of the respective chains 29 and are carried around the fixed to the driven sprockets 33 and 34, respectively, fixed at opposite ends of the driven shaft 35. Driven gear 36 is fixed to the shaft and is driven through the reduction gear train 37, right-angle gear unit 38, reduction sprocket-and-chain unit 39, and reduction belt-and-pulley unit 40 by electrical motor 41. The motor 41 may be reversible to either raise or lower the bearing blocks 21 and 22 and cloth roll 26 upon the proper signal.

The inside of the driven sprocket 34 is provided with a stop lug 44 adapted to engage stationary stop pin 45 fixed on frame 11 when the driven sprocket 34 has been rotated to a position in which the spindle block 22 has descended to its lowermost limit. A limit switch 46 is also mounted on the left side of the carriage 11 and in the path of the stop lug 44 so that the motor 41 will automatically be turned off when the bearing block 22 has reached or approaches its lowermost limit.

Mounted below and in engagement with the bottom of the cloth feed roll 26 are a pair of cloth feed rollers 49 and 50 fixed on roller shafts 51 and 52, respectively. As best disclosed in FIG. 2, any number of feed rollers or feed roller sections 49 and 50 may be mounted coaxially on the roller shafts 51 and 52, respectively.

As best disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 4, the right ends of the roller shafts 51 and 52 are journaled for rotation within the outer or free ends of pivot or link arms 53 and 54, respectively. In order to pivotally mount the inner ends of both link arms 53 and 54 about a transverse axis, the inner end of link arm 53 is fixed to a transverse hollow tubular shaft 55, while the inner end of the link arm 54 is fixed to a smaller transverse shaft 56 extending concentrically and journaled within the tubular shaft 55 for free coaxial rotatable movement. The left end portion of the feed roller shaft 51 is also freely journaled within the outer end of left link arm 57, while the left end portion of feed roller shaft 52 is freely journaled within the outer end of link arm 58. The inner end of the left link arm 57 is fixed to the left end of the tubular pivot shaft 55, while the inner end of the left rear link arm 58 is fixed to the inner pivot shaft 56. Thus, the front feed roller shaft 51, the two link arms 53 and 57 and the tubular pivot shaft 55 move in unison and pivotal relation with the rear feed roller shaft 52, link arms 54 and 58 and the inner pivot shaft 56.

The pivotal movement of the link arms 53 and 54 are limited by stop pins 59 and 60 fixed in the right wall of the base frame 11 and extending through arcuate slots 61 and 62 formed in the respective link arms 53 and 54 and having equal radii concentric with the pivot shaft 56. As best disclosed in FIG. 4, the link arms 53 and 54 are shown urged to their uppermost position by springs 63 and 64, respectively. The inner ends of the springs 63 and 64 are pivoted about a common pivot pin 65, and the outer ends of the springs 63 and 64 are pivotally connected by pins 67 and 68 to the respective link arms 53 and 54.

The common axis of the pivotal shafts 55 and 56 is preferably parallel to and in vertical alignment with the axis of the spindle 25 when mounted in the bearing blocks 21 and 22. Consequently, the positions of the stop pins 59 and 60 in the arcuate slots 61 and 62 are such that the pivotal movement of the drive roller shafts 51 and 52 is limited to opposite sides of the vertical plane containing the axis of the spindle 25 and the axis of the pivot shafts 55 and 56, so that the weight of the cloth roll 26 will be substantially balanced between the feed rollers 49 and 50.

Fixed to the base frame 11 in the path of the upward movement of link arm 54 is a motor actuator, such as limit switch or microswitch 70 having a switch arm or finger 71 adapted to be engaged by and moved to operative position by the upward pivoting link arm 54. The limit switch 70 is connected by leads, such as 72, to the electric motor 41 so that when the switch arm 71 is moved to energize the switch 70, the motor 41 will be driven in a direction to lower the bearing blocks 21 and 22. As the bearing blocks 21 and 22 lower the roll spindle 25 and cloth roll 26, the bottom of the roll 26 will descend until it engages and forces downwardly the cloth feed rollers 49 and 50. The downward movement of the cloth feed rollers 50 will move the link arm 54 away from the switch arm 71 until the switch 70 is de-actuated to deenergize the motor 41 and stop the downward movement of the cloth roll 26.

It will thus be seen, that as the web or cloth 75 is unwound from the roll 26, the diameter of the roll 26 will gradually decrease, permitting the springs 63 and 64 to urge the link arms 53 and 54, and consequently the feed rollers 49 and 50 upwardly, to constantly engage the outer circumference of the web roll 26. As the feed rollers 49 and 50 continue to rise, the limit switch 70 will eventually be actuated to energize the motor 41 and lower the feed roller 26 to depress the feed rollers 49 and 50 until the switch 70 is de-actuated and the motor 41 is deenergized. This operation is repeated as long as the web is unwound to constantly restore and maintain the proper feeding engagement and pressure between the web roll 26 and feed rollers 49 and 50.

The cloth feed rollers 49 and 50 are driven at the same rate and in the same direction from power means, not shown, such as normally carried on the frame 12 of the cloth spreading machine which drives the feed roller drive shaft 77. Fixed to the end of the drive shaft 77 is drive sprocket 78 which carries chain 79 for driving sprocket 80 fixed to driven shaft 81, which also carries driven sprockets 82 and 83. Chains 84 and 85 carried by the sprockets 82 and 83 in turn drive sprockets 86 4 and 87 fixed to the left ends of feed roller shafts 51 and 52, respectively.

If desired, a Web guide plate 90 may be fixed transversely to the front pivot arms 53 and 57 and between. the forward feed roller or rollers 49 and the bottom of the web roll 26 to prevent the web 75 from winding around the feed roller 49.

It will be understood that the motor 41 may be driven in a reverse direction by manual controls in order to raise the spindle brackets 21 and 22 to an elevated position for loading a new cloth roll 26. However, the descent of the brackets 21, 22, spindle 25 and cloth roll 26 is automatically controlled through the limit switch 70 as the diameter of the roll 26 is decreased by unwinding.

It will thus be seen that a web roll support has been provided that will not only support the weight of heavy web rolls, and relieve the tremendous pressure upon the web feed means, such as web feed rollers stationed beneath the roll, but it will also lower the roll and maintain continuous engagement at relatively even pressure between the web feed means and the roll even as the roll is unwound.

This invention is a considerable improvement over the type of web roll supporting and feeding means, particularly the cloth roll support and feed means disclosed in patent application S.N. 540,026 in which the pair of cloth feeding rolls not only feed the web, but also have to support the roll. Where the weight of the cloth rolls is excessive, considerable pressure and stress is placed on the prior feed rollers, which affords inefiicient, slow, and sometimes interrupted feeding of the cloth.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A suspended web roll support comprising:

(a) a base frame,

(b) a pair of spaced standards mounted upright on said frame,

(c) a spindle bearing block mounted for vertical slidable movement on each of said standards, said blocks opposing each other,

(d) a spindle carrying a web roll, the opposite ends of said spindle being rotatably supported in said opposed bearing blocks,

(e) means on said frame suspending said blocks on said standards,

(f) motive means connected to said suspending means to move said blocks on said standards when said motive means is actuated, and to hold said blocks stationary when said motive means is de-actuated,

g) web feed means adapted to rotatably engage said web roll,

(h) means mounting said web feed means on said frame below said web roll to bias said feed means uplvlvardly into feeding engagement with said web ro (i) means for driving said web feed means, and

(j) a motive means actuator mounted on said frame for operative engagement by said web feed means when said feed means has been biased to a predetermined elevation, to actuate said motive means to move said bearing blocks and the Web roll carried thereby until said feed means has been moved to disengage said actuator.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which s id suspending means comprises a flexible lineal member for each of said bearing blocks, each lineal member having opposite ends and being carried over a rotatable idler member mounted on each of said standards, one of said ends being fixed to said bearing block and the other of said ends being connected to said motive means.

3. The invention according to claim 1 in which said motive means comprises an electrical motor, and said actuator comprises a switch electrically connected to said motor and mounted above and in the path of said web feed means for energizing said motor when said web feed means has attained said predetermined elevation.

4. The invention according to claim 1 in which said web feed means comprises a roller whose axis is parallel to said spindle and said web feed mounting means comprises a link arm having opposite ends, one of said ends being pivotally mounted to said frame, and the other of said ends rotatably supporting said roller for pivotal movement about said one end, said web feed mounting means further comprising a coil spring biasing said link arm to pivot said roller toward engagement with said web roll.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which said web feed means comprises a pair of feed rollers whose axes are parallel to said spindle, a transverse pivot shaft mounted on said frame parallel to and below said spindle, a pair of link arms having inner and outer ends, said inner ends being pivotally journaled about said pivot shaft, and said outer ends rotatably supporting said feed rollers, said web feed mounting means further comprising springs biasing said link arms to pivot said feed rollers toward engagement with said web roll, said web feed driving means comprising means for driving said web feed rollers simultaneously in the same direction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,618,945 11/1952 Bellini 24265 X 3,239,161 3/1966 Dutro et al. 24275.1 3,306,547 2/1967 Reid et al 242-66 3,334,834 8/1967 Davidson et al. 242-65 WILLIAM S. BURDEN, Primary Examiner. 

1. SUSPENDED WEB ROLL SUPPORT COMPRISING: (A) A BASE FRAME, (B) A PAIR OF SPACED STANDARDS MOUNTED UPRIGHT ON SAID FRAME, (C) A SPINDLE BEARING BLOCK MOUNTED FOR VERTICAL SLIDABLE MOVEMENT ON EACH OF SAID STANDARDS, SAID BLOCKS OPPOSING EACH OTHER, (D) A SPINDLE CARRYING A WEB ROLL, THE OPPOSITE ENDS OF SAID SPINDLE BEING ROTATABLY SUPPORTED IN SAID OPPOSED BEARING BLOCKS, (E) MEANS ON SAID FRAME SUSPENDING SAID BLOCKS ON SAID STANDARDS, (F) MOTIVE MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID SUSPENDING MEANS TO MOVE SAID BLOCKS ON SAID STANDARDS WHEN SAID MOTIVE MEANS IS ACTUATED, AND TO HOLD SAID BLOCKS STATIONARY WHEN SAID MOTIVE MEANS IS DE-ACTUATED, (G) WEB FEED MEANS ADAPTED TO ROTATABLY ENGAGE SAID WEB ROLL, (H) MEANS MOUNTING SAID WEB FEED MEANS ON SAID FRAME BELOW SAID WEB ROLL TO BIAS SAID FEED MEANS UPWARDLY INTO FEEDING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID WEB ROLL, (I) MEANS FOR DRIVING SAID WEB MEANS, AND (J) A MOTIVE MEANS ACTUATOR MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME FOR OPERATIVE ENGAGEMENT BY SAID WEB FEED MEANS WHEN SAID FEED MEANS HAS BEEN BIASED TO A PREDETERMINED ELEVATION, TO ACTUATE SAID MOTIVE MEANS TO MOVE SAID BEARING BLOCKS AND THE WEB ROLL CARRIED THEREBY UNTIL SAID FEED MEANS HAS BEEN MOVED TO DISENGAGE SAID ACTUATOR. 